This disclosure relates generally to the field of radar systems and specifically to inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) systems.
There is a relative scarcity of information available regarding the internal structures of many bodies in the solar system, including near earth objects (NEOs) such as cometary nuclei and asteroids. Ground-based microwave radar may characterize NEOs as single homogenous objects, as ground-based microwave radar may have an imaging resolution of over 15 meters. Because earth-crossing objects such as Apophis are scheduled to pass inside the moon's orbit in 2029, and may constitute a potential hypervelocity impact risk to Earth, availability of detailed information regarding the internal structure of NEOs may allow scientists to quantify the mechanics of impact events involving NEOs.